Top 10 Events of 2011

I decided that from now on I will start doing the top 10 events of the year as a reflection because if I don't start doing that now, I'll be doing the 33 events in 2033 and it's taken me enough time to reflect and get my thoughts together for this past year. Trying, with little success, to keep it simple.

There's a whole bunch more in my head, people (& bearded dragons like Yoshi) that I'm thinking of, that I didn't write about.. I added some of them but I do have more losses and gains that I didn't mention. But here, in no particular order, are some major & minor/but memorable things that happened in my life in 2011.

1. Couponing: The beginning of last year was when I seriously started couponing to help us out financially and that it did. We had always had a home of either feast or famine and for the past year we've had our house pretty stocked with the necessities. I even had extras that I was able to share with friends and family and that made me happy because I really do love to give. I'm still following the blog: www.livingrichwithcoupons.com and it makes it so much easier once you know the basics. I'm glad I was inspired to try it out and get a little more serious about it last year (although lately I've been slacking a bit)

2. Goodbye Passat - Hello Worktruck: After being a 2 car family for a little over a year we became a one car family for a little while. Even had a period of time in between where we were a no car family when our van crapped out in the fall. Thankfully Tim's company let him take a work truck home. I think of it making up for no raises this year because 1) we save $ on gas with our van 2) we save miles that are really racking up on the van and 3) it let's me have a vehicle during the day so I can still get to appointments or run errands before Tim gets home from work. We lose out on the convenience on our family being able to go 2 places at the same time but there's ways around that and we've adjusted.

3. Evan in Pre-K: Evan got chosen in the ECC lottery for Pre-K so this is the first year that I have all three boys in school. Evan still won't have a full day of school for another 2 years but I am enjoying the 1-3pm break that I have every now and then.

4. Rings: Tim & I decided to get our first tattoos from my sister for our 9th wedding anniversary. Tim hasn't been able to wear his wedding band at work since the beginning of our marriage because of the construction he does. He almost lost it twice because he had it on a necklace and that broke. So now he has my initials C R F on his ring finger forever :)

I got the letter T with a little heart next to it on mine. It makes me smile.

And then around Christmas we ended up ordering new rings because Tim never got to choose my engagement ring out and he asked a while ago if I'd mind changing it. I told him not at all so we looked at rings together and I have a new anniversary set that I love as much as my tattoo. He picked out his own new band that he wears at home or on the weekends.

I don't need a ring or a tattoo to know how much Tim loves me and how much I love him. But I do enjoy it!

5. New Songs: I began writing a whole lot more like I used to in High School. It feels nice to be myself again. I've written a bunch of half songs that I hope to have completed but I also wrote a few whole songs that I'm happy with. Thanks to Tim and my Mama who helped pull the creativity out and to all the different elements that inspired me throughout the year

6. iPhone Upgrades: One of the minor but memorable parts of this year is that my parents got me an iPhone 4S for my birthday. I love being able to take lots more pictures and videos with it besides everything else it does (like facetime!) Not too long after I got mine, we added Tim onto the family plan and he got the same phone as me (& the otterboxes that we need with 3 boys) [It's nice to have a mom who works for Apple] Tim has had his company phone for the last few years and was limited to the amount he was able to use it for calling and texting. This gave him the freedom to be more connected to family and friends. I've talked to him a lot more often when he's not home and I love it :) And Tim's finally on top of his e-mail haha

7. Moves: Family -The BEST move (well...best in the sense that it benefited me haha) this year was the one where my brother got out of the Navy and is back in NY forever (or as long as he chooses to be) I'm really happy to have him close by so we can build more memories. I also love knowing that he's safe :)

All the other moves this year were not so happy for me. Even as I type this I feel sad.

My sister & Wade moved to TX right before Thanksgiving. It was sudden and somewhat unexpected even though I knew there was a chance that it would happen. I know it's the best thing for them. It's really great that they have their own place. I'm also happy that Wade has a really good job that he's able to do after his injury at his former company. I still get sad about it but I know it's part of growing up and life. I'm happy that I get to talk to her and hopefully when she gets her new phone I'll be seeing her through it :)

Oh yea, speaking of moves! How did I almost forget this. Move good moves: Donna & Frank, Emad & Mary, and Eric & Laura all moved within two weeks of each other. Thank goodness it was locally (again for me haha) Each couple/family benefited in one way or another from the move. I hope everyone is all settled in by now. I know it was all a whirlwind when it happened.

Moves: Church - Lindy to Babylon. Not only did our church move from Lindenhurst where it's been for over a decade, but a lot of people within the church moved on to other places. I know everyone has their own reasons but it was still a painful process to go from seeing the people I grew up with every week, to not talking at all. I know it's a two way street but when you feel different rejection from different people it makes you want to withdraw from everyone that left. During the last year I questioned so much of what kind of relationships were in the church and what was real and what was crap. It made me angry and frustrated with church as a whole. I still love God, I still believe that good things can come from church. I'm trying to remember that everyone is broken in one way or another and as painful as the process was for me, I'm sure leaving a place you knew as your church home for so long is painful too. I lost contact with the majority of the youth group that Tim & I invested our love and time into, out of respect of each family and what they wanted for the next season for their kids. But it still hurts. As I write this out I'm realizing because I haven't fully processed this one out loud, it's coming out now. But anyways yea that was really hard to go through.

8. Death: Both my great-grandma (my dad's grandma, Babji) and grandpa (my mom's dad, Tom) passed away this year. It's all been a big blur. The worst part of it all was being so far from them. I have a lot of great memories with my great grandma. She had me stay in FL one month during the summer. I gained 20 lbs in that month no exaggeration and cried when I went to go school shopping. But I ate well and she always made sure that everyone had enough to eat when we were together. She would send me home with coins or perfume. She named her dog Candy even though they said it wasn't because of me. She would tape Saturday morning cartoons so we'd have something to watch at her house when we visited. Lots and lots of great memories. I'm really grateful I was able to see her about a year ago when I took the road trip with my dad to Texas. She was always a strong woman and it was sad seeing her weak in the end. But she lived to be in her 90's and that is awesome. She was an avid reader and puzzle doer and I really believe that helped. I had good memories of my Grandpa Tom when I was little of visiting his house, going to the ice cream shop, going to the zoo. That all is a little more fuzzy to me because we didn't really stay in touch. I'm sure when you have 11 kids and lots and lots of grand and great grandchildren it's hard to keep track of them all. He sadly died of cancer and it was all within last year so it was hard seeing what my mom went through with all of it. It made me reflect on everyone around me and how life is moving fast and that was something I didn't like at all. There were a lot more deaths this past year, most of them I heard about were sudden and that's always a wake up call. I would love to live to my 90's like my great grandma and I would like everyone I love to be able to do that as well, but I know that's not reality.

9. Three Weddings: On the plus side I got to see 3 different couples start their lives as husband and wife and all within a month and a half haha.

Eric & Laura - Tim's sister Laura, got married to Eric. It was raining in the morning but it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day. My favorite part was watching Eric, Laura & Leah dance together. It made me smile so much. They were always a family but it felt official that day. After they got married we found out they were having another BABY :) Yay!! (which explains the moving from Event #7)

Steve & Jessica - Jessica was someone I grew up with. Her mom and my aunt were good friends in high school and my dad has known her since then as well. We got back in touch a year before and it was perfect timing so I could see her get married (and soon have a baby too!! - I love babies!) Most memorable part of that day was that it SNOWED in October. We had SUCH crazy weather*

(*p.s. Hurricane Irene was this year too when most people lost power for up to a week or so - thank goodness we didn't, but we were prepared for it!)

Steve & Kristen - And last but not least was our friends Steve & Kristen's wedding. They got married on a fun date 11/11/11! It was so great spending time with our friends (kid-less) that night. From Ceremony to Reception you could feel the love in the room. Another beautiful wedding.

10. Sober: Even though I didn't have any real set order for the last 9 events I did save this one for the end because it was my favorite. Tim's dad was drinking as long as Tim can remember and I know that their family had been wanting and praying for him to stop (especially because of his health) He's been sober for a year :) It's been so great seeing him more at family get-togethers, playing games with him, & seeing him have fun with his grandkids. It makes my heart so happy. I know I can't even express it fully because I wasn't there from the beginning but I see the joy that it's brought to the whole family this year and it feels so good. Thank You God for answered prayers & restoration.

And with that I'll finally welcome the New Year (even though January is almost over) with the same prayer: Thank You God for answered prayers & restoration. I pray that 2012 will be full of them!